MMDA chief watching Thursday's NBA game while floods hit metro

MANILA, Philippines - Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino was seen watching the NBA Global Games between the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday night as heavy rains flooded some streets of the metro.

The Star tried to get a reaction from Tolentino but the text messages sent to him were not answered.

The downpour started late Thursday afternoon and quickly swamped several streets.

According to the MMDA, some of the streets and roads that were flooded were Commonwealth Avenue, Katipunan, the northbound lane of the EDSA-Aurora tunnel and the northbound lane of the EDSA-Boni tunnel.

As of 6:35 p.m. Thursday, the northbound lane of the EDSA-Santolan service road was flooded by some 36-inches and was rendered not passable to all types of vehicles.

The flooded streets also triggered traffic jams that left many motorists stranded for several hours.